Mitt Romney a Second Opinion...

As a new voter, the process of finding a presidential candidate to support seems overwhelming. Not only are there still many candidates at this time but the number of issues our nation faces is astounding. Trying to pick the best of the bunch requires careful understanding of all subjects relating to their election. In this blog I will focus on the environmental policies of Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Romney firmly believes that the US needs to reduce its dependence of foreign oil. He proposes that we do this by increasing funding for research into alternative energy sources. He is a strong supporter of nuclear power as well. He also advocates increasing energy efficiency and the cleaner burning of fossil fuels through processes such as carbon sequestration. All of these are environmentally friendly policies but I don’t see how he will implement them. He wants to curb federal spending but claims he is going to implement an, “Energy Revolution if you will. It will be our generation’s equivalent of the Manhattan Project or the mission to the Moon.” (http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/ending-energy-dependence) It is my understanding that a project on that scale will cost a considerable sum of money, while Romney aims to cut government spending. He also claims to support alternative energy but opposes the “Cape Wind” proposal which would put offshore wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod. It seems that former governor Romney says he supports these alternative energy types but takes a “not in my backyard” stance when they are proposed in his state. Romney also intends to reduce or dependence on foreign oil through the drilling of oil in domestic sites, notably ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf.

All in all, Romney’s environmental reform claims seem promising at first but at a closer glance I think that they conflict with his other policies. Given the nature of politics, I think he is trying to please everybody and that it would be very unlikely for many of the changes he wants to make to occur if he was elected president. For these reasons I give Romney a C on his environmental policies.

Photo Credit: This United States Congress Image is in the public domain.

-Max Royster, Cornell University Student